Mitch McConnell: Protect corporate CEOs ... or else.

Meatpacking plants have become the newest epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, with nearly 5,000 employees across the country contracting the virus and at least 20 employees dead.

Dear MoveOn member,

Meatpacking plants have become the newest epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, with nearly 5,000 employees across the country contracting the virus and at least 20 employees dead.¹ And while employees—who are largely immigrants or people of color—are calling out cramped working conditions and lax sanitation policies for accelerating the spread, the Trump administration is pushing these plants to remain open, and Mitch McConnell and Republicans in Congress are demanding that employers be protected from accountability—or else.^2,3

McConnell has said that liability protections, which would prevent employees or customers from suing if they contract COVID-19 at a business that has reopened but has not put in place proper protections, are a "red line" and that he will refuse to bring any additional coronavirus relief bills to a vote without them.⁴

You read that right. McConnell wants to hold up desperately needed aid to cities and states, assistance for essential workers, and money to protect the 2020 election via expanded early voting and vote-by-mail, unless the public is banned from holding corporations responsible if they cause further coronavirus infections.

And you can be sure this isn't just about meatpacking plants—McConnell has a long history of putting corporate interests ahead of the needs of regular people.

We can't let that happen, Mar. Will you rush a $3 donation now to help us stop this dirty dealing and keep the pressure up on Democrats in Congress to demand real relief for people and not massive corporations?

Corporations have been pushing for the economy to be reopened—including by fueling the armed, right-wing riots that have popped up across the country in recent weeks—even though public health officials have warned that the country does not have the infrastructure in place to do so safely.

But the only thing that matters to them is their bottom line, and Donald Trump is cheering them on. He even signed an executive order designating meatpacking plants as "critical infrastructure," compelling workers to return to dangerous working conditions while outbreaks continue to occur.⁵

MoveOn is working around the clock to demand that Congress pass a bill to provide real relief to workers and protections for our democracy, including: 

• An Essential Workers Bill of Rights, which would provide additional support and protections for workers on the front lines, including hazard pay for their work during the pandemic.
• Robust funding to cities and states, which are bearing the brunt of pandemic response and receiving little support from the Trump administration.
• Direct relief to individuals and families who are struggling to pay basic needs like rent and utility bills and buy groceries.
• Plus additional funding to protect our democracy during the pandemic and beyond. 

Will you chip in $3 in to help us flood the phone lines in Congress, run ads, coordinate virtual petition deliveries, and more to demand a coronavirus relief bill without poison pills like liability protections for corporations?

Trump, Mitch McConnell, and Republicans in Congress have been consistently placing the desires of corporations and their billionaire donors over the health and safety of their constituents and the future of our democracy. They've been doing so for years, and they're continuing their despicable behavior during the coronavirus pandemic.

It is up to us to push back against their ludicrous and dangerous demands and ensure that bills passed by Congress protect those who really need help, not corporate CEOs.

Click here to chip in $3 now.

Thanks for all you do.

–Emma, Allison, Amy, Reggie, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "COVID-19 Among Workers in Meat and Poultry Processing Facilities ― 19 States, April 2020," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, May 1, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/123105?t=5&akid=263378%2E10220574%2EufxKaO

2. "McConnell Demands Liability Protections in Next Coronavirus Bill," Bloomberg, April 27, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/123106?t=7&akid=263378%2E10220574%2EufxKaO

3. "'We're modern slaves': How meat plant workers became the new frontline in Covid-19 war," The Guardian, May 2, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/123107?t=9&akid=263378%2E10220574%2EufxKaO

4. "McConnell Demands Liability Protections in Next Coronavirus Bill," Bloomberg, April 27, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/123106?t=11&akid=263378%2E10220574%2EufxKaO

5. "Trump orders meat plants to stay open in pandemic," The Washington Post, April 29, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/123108?t=13&akid=263378%2E10220574%2EufxKaO

Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your support, now more than ever. Will you stand with us?

Click here to chip in $3, or whatever you can afford.

Contributions to MoveOn Civic Action are not tax-deductible for income tax purposes. This email was sent to Mar Alfaro on May 5, 2020. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.